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Tuesday, December 15, 2009

All that youthful energy....

This trend of teenage vampire entertainment has become almost comical. Not that they are poorly made or anything like that but the sheer volume of it is bordering on obsessive. From Twilight to the Vampire Diaries to the countless black books with some attractive girl on the cover, it’s like society has become vampire crazed and can’t get enough.

I know that I’m occasionally snooty when it comes to my vampire lit so I’m not always fair to the content. One of the biggest gripes I’ve had is how these old vampires somehow find commonality with the rather young object of their affection. I can’t say a whole lot on this subject because I’m just as guilty of it. So I really thought hard about this topic in the hopes I could find some form of explanation.

I think that living for a long time does not necessarily alienate a vampire from the human beings around them providing that they make an effort to keep up with the ebb & flow of society. The minute a vampire detaches themselves from humanity and doesn’t ‘keep up’ as they say, then yeah, there would be no chance of appreciating people for anything more than a meal.

As someone who has taken great care to live in the now, I can say that having lived past a normal lifespan doesn’t mean that people are beneath me. In fact, I think that if anyone is to stagnate it’s the vampire that’s lived an incredible lifespan. Why should they evolve when they’ve seen so much? For someone just over the one hundred fifty mark, I can say that my biggest sin is knowing how a series of traditional events is going to turn out.

Such experience makes one annoying for a younger generation.

So perhaps my biggest problem is that these vampires pick teenagers. I prefer my mates at least in their middle twenties when they’ve calmed down a little and have some responsibility to them. The hormones of a young person alone make my nose twitch and my skin crawl. I don’t mind dangerous and wild but good lord, consistency is NOT a virtue of youth.

Things were a lot different in my era too. At first, one finds themselves believing that an eighteen year old could be much like they were when one was alive: an adult who might have even owned land and carried on with the same stature of a modern day thirty year old. I could see a vampire fall into that trap.

But this world, the modern world, is full of change and high speed motion. People do not want to settle down. They are quite content to flit about from place to place and person to person because that’s what they’re supposed to do. Find the right person, have fun along the way. I’m not saying it’s wrong but for an immortal who’s already done that, it gets old quick.

I guess the bottom line is that these stories are strictly romantic entertainment for a younger crowd and I have no business criticizing them. They are fun and I have enjoyed them despite my little nitpicking. All these stories, movies and TV shows have struck some kind of chord with me or I wouldn’t have so much to say.

In the end, that’s what entertainment is about, isn’t it? Get you thinking, make you smile or cry, create something to talk about and leave a lasting impression. If that’s the case, then these young adult romance novels deserve high praise. You’ve all done your job well. Now… if I could just get over the Jacob/Bella thing. Sheesh, that was hard for me!!!

1 comment:

You are so right. It is easy for a vampire to fall into that trap. Unfortunately, I have seen it happen too many times, and although I try to warn my "younger ones," they do not listen. It is something that comes with time and experience.

Courtney Breazile

Annie Alvarez

Valerie J. Long

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